geflit

ġe- +‎ flit

• IPA^(key): /jeˈflit/

ġeflit n

1. argument, fight
2. arguing, fighting
3. contest, competition

• Ġeflit means an argument as in "a debate, dispute, quarrel." For the sense "line of reasoning," racu is used.
• Most often, ġeflit denotes verbal fighting and ġefeoht physical fighting, though this is only a generalization.
• The plural ending -u, attested in Alfred, Ælfric, and the translator of Bede, shows that the /i/ in this word is short, cf. pairs such as wrītan (“to write”) and ġewrit (“writing,” → Modern English writ). Bede's translator even spells the plural ⟨gefleoto⟩, showing back umlaut, which only occurs to short vowels. This means at least a form of the word must have had short /i/ at least since around 700, when back umlaut took place. Thus, the /aɪ/ of the modern noun flyte must be from the verb.

• flītan

• Middle English: flit